Liberals may revisit privatized liquor sales
It’s been a decade since the B.C. government cracked open a keg of controversy with its plan to get out of the booze-selling business.
Back then, the government insisted there was no compelling reason to be in the liquor trade — apart from taxing the heck out of it, of course.
But the Liberals backed away from their plan to completely privatize liquor sales in the face of a public backlash, especially from smaller communities that feared losing their local store, and from consumers who feared higher prices. Things have changed. The province is served by an expanded network of private liquor outlets, and there seems to be less public anxiety about privatizing the booze business.
Maybe that explains why the government thinks the time is right to sell its liquor-distribution system to a private operator, as revealed in Tuesday’s budget.
“We don’t need to be in that business,” said Finance Minister Kevin Falcon. “The government brings no particular specialty in the distribution of alcohol.” Now the government will move quickly to let the private sector take over its liquor warehouses.
A public request-for-proposal will be posted within 60 days, and a deal signed “easily within a year,” said cabinet minister Rich Coleman.
And see who’s standing near the front of the line, looking for a piece of the action!
Powerful Liberal Party insider Patrick Kinsella is a registered lobbyist for Exel Logistics, pressing the government to privatize its liquor distribution system, according to the B.C. Lobbyists Registry.
Kinsella was an adviser to Premier Christy Clark during her Liberal leadership bid, and the NDP jumped all over the connection in Question Period.
“Kinsella is the ultimate B.C. Liberal backroom boy,” said NDP critic Shane Simpson. “He was involved in this months before the decision was made.”
“Nobody has the inside track,” Coleman fired back, insisting the bidding process for the Liquor Distribution Branch will be fair and impartial.
As the plot thickens, here’s a question to keep in mind: Could this be the first step in selling off the government’s entire liquor operations, including its 190 unionized retail stores?
The governing Liberals are down in the polls, and desperately seeking a “wedge issue” with which to fight the NDP.
They’re also losing support to the upstart B.C. Conservatives.
Selling off government liquor stores would set up a juicy political fight with the NDP and the public-sector unions. It would also be a bold rightwing gesture that the Liberals might see as a way to stop the bleeding of support to the Conservatives.
“The question has always been for people, ‘Why are you in the business of retailing liquor?’” Coleman said. “You can’t rule it out forever.”
Especially in this desperate political climate I doubt the government has taken any option off the table.